'We would like to thank our patients for their understanding and patience during our change of computer systems. We still have a lot to learn and would appreciate if you bear with us over the next few weeks. We are hoping to resume full service shortly and commence our new on-line patient access for booking appointments and ordering prescriptions by mid November.'

Patient Participation Group

Are you interested in finding out more about Churchdown Surgery? Would you like to influence the development of local health services?

Churchdown Surgery has a Patient Participation Group, whose purpose is to seek patient’s views and involvement in the services the practice provides, and to act where possible on the views of our patients.

The practice is looking to gain engagement especially from under-represented groups, particularly teenagers and parents of school age children and under. If you would like to volunteer to join this new group, to discuss your ideas and hear about planned changes please contact the surgery.

Here are a few things to give you an idea of what the group gets involved in

Plans

Extend collaborative working with other surgeries to learn from their successes

Grow the Patient Participation Group membership to give patients a greater input to the surgery and the healthcare they receive

Develop a young persons Patient Participation Group to give younger patients a voice in their healthcare

Develop the Patient Participation Group information on the surgery website

Work with the surgery to enhance the surgery website to help make it more patient friendly

Assist the surgery in the development of social prescribing, a means of enabling GPs and other front-line healthcare professionals to refer people to 'services' in their community instead of offering only medical solutions

Support Dr Agombar's social gardening project

Support Dr Drewett with her Churchdown Connections project which will empower patients to self-care by training a member of staff in health coaching skills, mapping community assets and facilitate connections between patients and community-based peer support groups

Achievements

October 2018 - The creation of a collaborative working group with Hucclecote Surgery to look at jointly developing the provision of Social Prescribing

September 2018 - Website updated following Patient Participation Group input

September 2018 - First set of Patient Participation Group promotion posters go out to various parish council offices

The Patient Participation Group (PPG) at Churchdown Surgery was created in 2012. It's objective being to give patients a voice in the services the surgery provides.

The PPG is independent from the surgery, although members of the Practice team do participate in PPG meetings and patient events.The group meets every two weeks on a Monday evening to hear from Practice staff about initiatives at the surgery, discuss progress on the current PPG action plan and to identify new ways in which the group can enhance the patient experience. Although the group are unable to address any specific patient complaints they are informed of feedback and discuss praise and areas for improvement.

As a group we aim to

Give patients a voice by

Looking at the results of the annual patient survey, conducting our own patient surveys or collecting feedback in the surgery reception

Advising the Practice and patients of new systems or treatments

Sharing good practice by networking with other PPGs

Lobbying to improve a range of health services

Promoting health matter by

Organising presentations on important health needs

Raising awareness of key public health messages

Producing a directory of self help support groups

Running courses in conjunction with the surgery on health subjects

Improve communication by

Issuing regular news bulletins

Building two-way relationship between patients and the surgery

Promoting awareness of and access to local health services

Developing a patient library or information resource centre

Improving the surgery's leaflets and website

Influence the development of services by

Advising on the development of new or existing practice premises

Bidding with the practice to provide new services

Representing patient views on the purchase of health services

Fundraising to provide services not covered by the NHS

Co-ordinating with other PPGs to improve wider healthcare delivery

To some people reading this brief guide, what we do will seem rather daunting. But rest assured Patient Participation Groups like ours, across the country, run by patients, are doing these things and like us are making a real difference.

Choose the level and degree of involvement that suits you best, whether as a regular member at Group meetings or a Virtual Member, or just helping out once in a while. It is all voluntary and any time you can give would be very much appreciated and valued.

We need and value the input from a wide range of patients,especially the ones who are busy with work, taking care of children, or who may be carers. We encourage people who are interested but unable to attend meetings at the practice to join our Virtual Patient Participation Group.We will email you the minutes of the PPG meetings, ask your opinion on a range of topics, and bring your feedback back to the group.

The information you supply us will be used lawfully, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to know what information is held about you and sets out rules to make sure that this information is handled properly.